Michael-Gorman.com

I love this quote:

We’re all connected: to each other, biologically; to the earth, chemically; and to the rest of the universe, atomically … and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe. We’re part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us.”

– Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History. From the cable program The Universe.

As you can probably guess by the sporadic timestamps, I’m biased towards letting the blog get a little stale rather than just spend my days linking to the same posts as 5,000 other news sites and blogs.

Still, I caught this article from Wired about the future of broadband in America, and I personally think it’s a must-read. It finds a way to neatly explain the concept’s impact on the all-important net neutrality, the question of government subsidies for reaching rural customers, and where the major players–both wired and wireless–stand on the issues.

If you haven’t been paying that close attention to these things to this point, then this is certainly worth a look.

Here’s that big project I hinted at earlier. We launched our new site a little over a week ago. It took longer than expected, but in the end it was more rewarding of an experience than I expected as well.

I’m usually not one to thump my chest about work I’ve done, so I hope you’ll allow me a sentence or two.

I’ve never had as much control over a redesign in my professional career. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t get some great input and help from my employer’s parent company tying it into the backend (not to mention the modules they built). But it was both fun and refreshing being able to start from basically a blank page and build from there.

We’ve received a lot of great input and will be working some of those suggestions into the site over the next few months. Nothing is ever perfect, but I feel pretty strongly we’ve made some huge improvements over the previous site, in organization, navigation and even in the way it will be managed from the backend.

Anyway, just thought I’d share. I’m both relieved that we’ve reached this point and proud of the new site.

Screen grab from the Weather Wizard earlier this evening.We just home when this storm front rolled through, so I grabbed the camera and took a couple of quick pictures.

Our front yard faces south, so the clouds you see rolling in are ahead of the area of the storm that caused a radar-indicated tornado warning about 20 mintues ago.

Not a big deal, but hey, I haven’t posted here in a while, so here you go.

The Boy singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider. He walked up to the mic and just started singing. What’s a dad to do other than stop emailing and fire up the recorder?

Still rather tied up at the moment with the the dayjob during the, well, day, and some great playoff hockey and basketball series at night. I expect things to lighten up a bit for me in about a week, allowing me to go back to updating here and working on the CD.

In the meantime, I’ll be throwing a video or two up here to pass the time. I actually featured this first video a while back on my old Below The Din blog, but I kind of buried it.

Stereophonics. The Black Crowes. Twice as Hard. If that sounds good already, just wait–it’s even better than you expect. If those three things underwhelm you, expect to be pleasantly surprised.

Did some spring cleaning over the past week or so, including a minor project revamping the office desk.

I took the electric piano that was in front of the window, set it on the desk, and built a shelf for inputs and gear and put the monitors on top of that.

Yes, one could almost confuse the office for halfway organized.

With several of its notable customers in medium and large markets switching to online-only distribution or shuttering their doos entirely, the AP is stepping up its efforts to make sure those nasty little bloggers and smaller news agencies are’nt using their content unlawfully.

Now, the AP didn’t completely specify what constitutes as lawful, but TechCrunch sheds some light on the process the wire service is using to track down violators. If the AP has its way, “fair use” as we know it may disappear.

But that’s dipping into hyperbole a bit early into the story. Let’s move on.

Now, some have seen this action as a shot across the bow at Google and other search engines and news aggregators, but as one of the Goog’s legal higher-ups points out, Google and AP actually have had a contet partnership for the better part of two years.

My problem with this whole situation is that it just sounds all too familiar. Transplant RIAA in place of AP and “major record labels” instead of “major news providers” and it’s basically the same situation. Yes, yes, I realize there are subtle differences in their respective relationships, but I’m also not the first person to make the analogy.

The established entities take umbrage when consumers use technolgy to access their content in new ways. The establishment, rather than find ways to make the most of the changing climate cry “theft” and dig in, clinging to their antiquated views for the long haul.

The problem is, in many ways, they are trying to bite the hand(s) that feed them. And if Google and other news aggregators were smart, they’d call the papers’ bluff and cut them off. This is a similar view to the one held by longtime convergence crusader Jeff Jarvis.

Look, it hasn’t been that long since my days at WQAD. I still remember all the traffic those AP stories from the state wires pulled in. And they weren’t even from the print wires, merely the “TV-level” subscription, if you will.

As much as content providers complain that Google and Co. are cutting them out, those aggregated stories pad money metrics like page views and unique visitors quite nicely.

That’s not even counting the blogs and smaller news sites. Chances are, that portion copied from an AP story–assuming it’s even remotely cited and makes a good-faith effort in the spirit of fair use–is going to benefit the larger papers more than it will harm them.

Or they can keep their head in the sand and do embarassing things like complain when people embed videos from their YOUTUBE channel. Priceless.

Bears QB Jay Cutler was all smiles Friday as the team introduced their new franchise quarterback. (Image courtesy ChicagoBears.com)It’s been nearly a week since Chicago Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo pulled the trigger on the biggest trade in team history. The background has been covered, re-covered, discussed, commentated and punditized into the ground across the country. So I’ll save you yet one more rehash of the basic story, except where it applies to my point.

Well, after six days of coverage, I find myself wondering how so many people who get paid to voice and/or write their opinions could be so… well, silly.

Myth #1: The Bears mortgaged their future when they gave two first-round picks.

Whoever tells you this has no knowledge of the Bears, otherwise they’d know how badly the team has drafted in the first-round for nearly 20 years.

Last year’s first-rounder, T Chris Williams, barely saw action on a line that overachieved by putting in an average year. Yes, TE Greg Olsen (2007), CB/S Danieal Manning (2006), DT Tommie Harris (2004) and LB Brian Urlacher (2000) are starters.

However, once you get past that, you have RB Cedric Benson (2005), DE Michael Haynes and QB Rex Grossman (2003), T Marc Columbo (2002), David Terrell (2001), QB Cade McNown (1999), RB Curtis Enis (1998), T John Allred (1997), Walt Harris (1996), Rashaan Salaam (1995), DE John Theirry (1994), WR Curtis Conway (1993), DE Alonzo Spellman (1992), T Stan Thomas (1991). Oh, and let’s not forget that Kyle Orton was the last member of the Bears’ Class of 2005 that was still with the team. Four years ago. All seven picks. Gone.

This list spans four head coaches. Yes, while that speaks very, very badly of the team’s scouting, it should also tell you that the Broncos may actually have been doing them a favor by taking the picks off the Bears’ hands.

While we’re at it, in this modern era of free agency and giant guaranteed signing bonuses for kids who have never played a down of pro football, are we overvaluing the importance of the first round pick? If not, then why are the Detroit Lions, a team that went 0-16 last year, that has first crack at any player they want, that needs help at nearly every position be shopping around their “coveted” place at the Undergrad Buffet?

Myth #2: Kyle Orton will do better than Jay Cutler.

Hours after the trade, several ESPN commentators were heaping praise on Kyle Orton. Funny, before the trade, if you were to ask these same people if the Bears could win a Super Bowl with Kyle Orton, I’d bet you dollars to hair dye that they’d chuckle and say, “no.”

Now, I like Orton. Even in his rookie year, he showed he was mature and not easily fazed. However, in his four years with the Bears, nothing has changed. He has touch, but he lacks a strong arm, and he really can’t throw a deep ball well. He was best when he was a game manager in Chicago, relying on an emphasis on the run and a strong defense (let’s not forget how strong that 2005 squad was).

Orton won’t have that in Denver. He’ll be asked to put the offense on his back and carry it, which is something he has yet to show is something that he can do. Still, his receivers will be better than the likes of Rashied Davis and Brandon Lloyd, and the line will be better.

People criticize Devin Hester’s transition to the offensive side of the ball, but I wonder if they forget the dozen or so times that Hester got behind defenses only to find the QB was unable to get him the ball. (Luckily, toward the end of the season, the Bears were able to occasionally nab the next best thing–the pass interference penalty.) Also, the Bears have arguably the best tight-end tandem in the league in the underutilized Greg Olsen and veteran Desmond Clark. And you have a budding star in RB Matt Forte, who also led the team in receptions last year.

Speaking of Forte, he’s a tough but nifty runner that gives the Bears a breakaway threat on the ground they haven’t had in years. Now imagine Cutler working with a play-action that defenses will actually bite on.

But what about the line, you ask? Well, on the offensive side of the ball, this is by far their biggest question mark. The Bears have signed Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale and Kevin Shaffer to compliment the younger members of their line. They have more and better options than they did in 2008.

Lastly (for this point): I believe Cutler is 13-1 when the Broncos held opponents to 21 points or less. That’s what the Bears averaged in 2008. Yes, a key member that that defense, Mike Brown, is gone, but new DL coach Rod Marinelli can only help. Last year, the Bears couldn’t get enough of a pass rush from their front four, which forced the linebackers to blitz more, which often left the defensive backs on their own. Even if the Bears don’t get instant help from the draft at safety, better play from the line should help out the pass coverage a bit more.

Myth #3: Denver got the better end of the deal.

Yes, they got the 18th pick of the draft this year. With a little luck, maybe they can package both picks to move up higher in the draft to get USC’s Mark Sanchez or Georgia’s Matthew Stafford. But, last year the Bears were about three or four plays in the early part of the season away from being perhaps the worst 12-4 team in history. And when I say the worst 12-4 team in NFL history, I’m still being polite.

Cutler will give them a better shot to win week in and week out this year. Even they don’t wind up getting a #1 receiver through free agency, they still have a strong chance to win the NFC North, and should the get such a target, then they are a, yes, conference contender. Barring a rash of injuries to key players, it’s not a stretch to think that the Bear’s spot in 2010 will drop to, say 22nd, maybe even 24th.

Don’t get me wrong, Denver could wind up making the very best out of a bad situation. Still, they lost a 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback with one of the strongest arms in the league and good mobility. That’s never a good thing. I’m not sure how Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels could have handled the situation worse. To be fair, I’m not sure how Cutler could have, either. Pat Bowlen isn’t someone to ignore for weeks …unless you wanted to get traded ASAP. Perhaps it was the unfortunate means to a sad end for Broncos fans.

But in Chicago (and even in my part of Illinois), we’re still dancing in the streets. We have a franchise quarterback.

I’ve been a little under the weather as of late. Between that and a home project I’ve been planning, I’ve been flying under the Interwebz radar. I’ve got posts regarding the Jay Cutler trade, the Twitter Backlash  and more churning in the back of my head and I’ll be serving them up probably early next week. I know you can’t wait.

Until then, soak in the awesome that is Gomez. Their new album, A New Tide, was released Tuesday, and this was their performance on the Jimmy Fallon Show that night. Go get the album. Go see them live.